Yankees GM Brian Cashman took his turn breaking down the club’s 2016 season and previewing the offseason that lies ahead. Jack Curry of the YES Network was among those on hand, and all links below are to his Twitter feed:

When asked about the possibility of dealing for a top-line starter such as Chris Sale, Cashman said he’d be “hard-pressed” to part with the haul of young talent needed to pull off such a deal. He indicated that it would be a “dangerous approach” to chase that kind of acquisition, especially given that his club is more than one piece away from pushing for a championship

Dellin Betances is in line to remain the Yankees’ closer, though Cashman held out the possibiity that the club will “do something different.” Curry notes that his own expectation is the team will chase lefty Aroldis Chapman, who is heading onto the open market after spending part of 2016 in New York (prior to his mid-season trade to the Cubs).

In other pitching news, intriguing young righty Luis Severinowon’t come into camp with a rotation job locked up, Cashman said. Instead, he’ll need to prove himself in camp, with Cashman saying that he hopes Severino “can regain starter ceiling status” after a tough 2016 campaign. Though he contributed only 71 major league frames with a 5.83 ERA last year, Severino is only 22 years of age and threw well at the Triple-A level in 2016.

Meanwhile, veteran lefty CC Sabathia is headed for a clean-up procedure for his knee. It’s said to be a “routine” operation, which presumably won’t prevent the 36-year-old from a full spring build-up. Sabathia is an important part of the Yankees’ pitching mix after his $25MM option vested. He contributed 179 2/3 innings of 3.91 ERA pitching last year, making for a rather promising showing.

New York will still presumably make an effort to bolster its rotation from the outside. Indeed, Cashman said the team will be on the lookout for opportunities to add arms. While the free agent picture is rather bleak, there are a few useful starters available as well as plenty of trade possibilities — even if chasing an ace likely isn’t in the cards.

The Yankees have never asked catcher Brian McCann to waive his no-trade clause, which Cashman says represents an indication of how much the team values the veteran. McCann’s name has come up quite a bit in trade chatter with Gary Sanchez expected to take over primary duties behind the dish. But it’s certainly still plausible to imagine both players holding down important roles. Alternatively, with a lot of demand for catchers around the game, McCann could be moved to address another need.

Meanwhile, the current plan is for Greg Bird and Tyler Austin to battle for playing time at first base while choosing from among Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, and Rob Refsnyder in right field. It’s likely the club will stay with its internal options in those areas, Cashman said, though he added that there is some uncertainty as to whether that mix will be sufficient.

While he probably won’t be an option early in the year, hyped prospect Jorge Mateo could play his way into the team’s plans if he can turn things around after a rough 2016 at the High-A level. The 21-year-old, a shortstop by trade, is being exposed to center field in instructional league action this fall in a bid to increase his versatility.

Cashman also addressed a few broader points. The organization still hopes to get under the luxury tax threshold at some point, which would reset the team’s rising tax figure. Both Cashman and skipper Joe Girardi will go year to year on their contracts rather than receiving any long-term assurances. And all coaches except Larry Rothschild are under contract, with the Yanks set to work on a new deal with their pitching coach.

It’s nearly a foregone conclusion that CC Sabathia’s $25MM option for the 2017 season will vest at season’s end — he’d have to be on the disabled list due to a shoulder injury in order for the option not to trigger — but the big lefty tells Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News that he’s felt so good in 2016 that he isn’t having any thoughts that next year could be his last.

“I know I want to pitch after next year, but I haven’t thought about where or what,” said Sabathia. “Hopefully it will be here. We’ll see.”

While many can accuse Sabathia of putting the cart before the horse, it’s understandable that he’s thinking long term as he puts the finishing touches on his healthiest season since 2013. Myriad knee and elbow injuries limited the former Cy Young winner to just 213 innings in 2014-15, and there was a great deal of uncertainty about his ability to hold up entering the season. Sabathia took to wearing a brace to protect his surgically repaired knee this season, and it would appear that the added support has done him plenty of good. The 36-year-old has pitched to a 4.02 ERA (his lowest mark since 2012) over the life of 172 1/3 innings and averaged 7.5 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 to go along with the second best ground-ball rate of his career (49.7 percent).

Sabathia will pitch the majority of the 2017 season at the age of 36, so the 2018 campaign he’s targeting at this point would only be his age-37 season — a more than reasonable goal if he proves healthy next year. Of course, Sabathia did hedge his aspirations somewhat, adding the critical caveat: “I know I feel like it’s not my time yet. Barring any crazy injuries, I know I can pitch past next year.”

While no longer the front-line pitcher that he was when he signed a then-record $161MM contract with the Yankees, Sabathia’s 2016 results suggest that there would be plenty of a market for him if he’s able to navigate another season without a significant injury. A pitcher capable of pitching 180 to 200 innings and turning in a roughly 4.00 ERA at Yankee Stadium/in the AL East would certainly have appeal, even if it were only as a fourth starter to round out a team’s rotation and provide some leadership to younger arms.

For those interested in checking out Sabathia’s hypothetical competition, MLBTR has already released its list of 2017-18 free agents, and the crop of starting pitchers looks to be considerably better than the upcoming class. Sabathia is slated to be joined by names like Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish, Johnny Cueto (if he opts out of his Giants deal), Alex Cobb, Danny Duffy, Tyson Ross and his own teammate, Michael Pineda. Of course, the possibility exists that one or more of those names will sign extensions, and others, most notably Ross, come with plenty of question marks surrounding their health.

Clay Buchholz may be in his final days as a member of the Red Sox, writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. Teams have inquired with the Red Sox about the struggling right-hander, Bradford reports, and his sparse usage as of late has the pitcher himself pondering his future with the club. “…I feel like the guys they’re rolling out there, I don’t have a spot. I’m the odd man out,” said Buchholz in reference to the rotation. “I’m not sure. I don’t know. Not having pitched in a while I felt like something has be going on.” Manager John Farrell offered a rather frank analysis of the situation when asked by Bradford: “He’s in a tough spot, I’ll be candid. I don’t want to say it’s purgatory, but as far as baseball he’s in a difficult spot. There was the four-day layover over the break. We’ve played very good winning baseball. We’ve gotten starters deeper into ballgames where the bullpen has been rested. That’s where the decisions have come in.” Buchholz’s contract has one more club option at $13.5MM on it, so perhaps an interested party would look to buy low in hopes of revitalizing him over the final two months of the year and making that option look like a reasonable price.

More from the AL East…

Bradford also spoke with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski about the process of making several of the more high-profile trades he made while serving as GM of the Tigers. Dombrowski pulled back the curtain a bit on his acquisitions of Doug Fister, Anibal Sanchez and David Price, as well as his trade of Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets last summer. Dombrowski also offered his take on this year’s trade market for starters, noting that it’s rare to see such lofty demand — winning teams are often good because of their starters, which is not the case for several clubs this year — while also seeing such a short supply from clubs that are decided sellers.

Steve Pearce has been the subject of quite a few of the Rays’ trade talks as of late, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter). Pearce has been one of the best bargain pickups of the offseason, slashing an outstanding .322/.393/.552 with 10 homers in 206 plate appearances. Because he can play first base, corner outfield or second base, Pearce could help a large number of clubs, and the remaining $1.89MM on his $4.75MM salary is a manageable sum for most clubs. Crasnick lists the Giants and Indians as a pair of possible fits for Tampa Bay’s slugging utilityman.

The Rays are in a powerful position on the trade market, writes Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. With so few options on the market for starting pitching, they’re poised to ask for lofty demands for any of Jake Odorizzi, Matt Moore or even Chris Archer, though the common refrain on Archer is that he won’t be moved. The Dodgers and Rangers are both following the Rays’ starters closely, and Topkin lists the Pirates, Astros, Marlins, Nationals and Red Sox as teams with serious interest. Topkin adds Pearce, right-hander Erasmo Ramirez and left-hander Xavier Cedeno to the list of possible trade options for president of baseball operations Matt Silverman and his staff. Notably, the Marlins were recently tied to left-handed relief help, so they could be interested not only in Tampa Bay’s starters but Cedeno as well.

The Blue Jays scouted both Andrew Cashner and CC Sabathia for their starts last night, per FanRag’s Jon Heyman. While Cashner is an obvious trade candidate that has been monitored by a large number of clubs, Sabathia’s name hasn’t been suggested often due to his significant salary. He’s earning $25MM this year with an identically priced vesting option for the 2017 season that will trigger if he doesn’t finish out the year with a shoulder injury. Heyman suggests that Sabathia may not be available as the Yankees aren’t yet decided on selling off pieces, though I have to imagine that they’d be perfectly willing to part with Sabathia even if they aim to contend, as that 2017 option isn’t especially appealing for a 36-year-old who has struggled over the past four seasons. Sabathia’s 10-and-5 rights are a factor, though, as he’d have to approve any trade. The Jays would also certainly request that the Yankees pay a hefty portion of Sabathia’s salary to green-light any trade. The notion of trading him seems like a bit of a reach to me, though one can’t fault the Blue Jays for performing due diligence.

Having come sputtering out of the All-Star break, selling before the Aug. 1 trade deadline now looks like an inevitability for the 44-46 Yankees, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Bombers, who are 9.5 games back of AL East-leading Baltimore and 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, will not undergo a full rebuild, reports Rosenthal. However, he notes that general manager Brian Cashman will have a chance to control this year’s trade market when he starts dealing veterans.

Catcher Brian McCann and left fielder Brett Gardner, two other prominent Yankees veterans, make up the team’s primary leadership core and might not go anywhere as a result, per Rosenthal. McCann has a no-trade clause to boot, so he’d have the power to block any deal.

Chapman, whom the Yankees acquired from the Reds over the winter for an underwhelming package of prospects, will bring back a more valuable return if traded in the next two weeks. When the Yankees picked up Chapman from Cincinnati, he was facing troubling domestic violence allegations. That enabled the Yanks to buy low on him, but the 28-year-old served a suspension at the beginning of the season and has been his usual self on the mound since. As a pending free agent, the Yankees could trade Chapman and then try to re-sign him in the offseason, as Rosenthal notes.

Miller, who’s under team control through 2018 at $9MM per year, has been even better than Chapman. His excellent production and reasonable salary will make it tough for the Yankees to part with him.

As Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Saturday, the Pirates and Yankees have discussed a Eovaldi trade. But Pineda and Sabathia are also garnering interest out of the Yankees’ rotation. Convincing Cashman to give up Eovaldi won’t be easy, according to Rosenthal, as he’s controllable through next season. The Yankees still believe in the hard-throwing 26-year-old despite his 5.54 ERA in 91 innings as a starter this season.

As a struggling right-hander with a year of team control left, Pineda shares similarities with Eovaldi. While the 27-year-old’s ERA sits at a whopping 5.56 through 100 1/3 frames, he’s eighth among starters in K-BB percentage (21.1) and has generated ground balls at a decent clip (44.2 percent).

Sabathia has done a much better job preventing runs than Eovaldi and Pineda, having logged a respectable 3.94 ERA in 93 2/3 innings, but moving him could be difficult. For one, the 35-year-old can veto any trade because of his 10-and-5 rights. He’s also on a $25MM salary this year and has a $25MM option for 2017 that – barring a shoulder injury – will vest, and his ERA has climbed 1.74 runs since June 16.

Even if Cashman can swing a deal for Sabathia, he might instead elect to hold the southpaw and his other two scuffling starters until the offseason. The pitching market will also be weak then, and keeping the three would give them a chance to rebound and improve their respective values, writes Rosenthal.

Considering they’re likelier to buy than sell, the Yankees are entering the deadline in unfamiliar territory. New York hasn’t been in this position since Cashman took the helm in 1998 (or in the few preceding years), and although the club hasn’t been a championship contender in recent years, the executive has earned the respect of his peers.

Surprisingly, Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia has revived his career to the point that he might actually have value in a trade, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The soon-to-be 36-year-old has bounced back from multiple underwhelming seasons in a row to post an excellent 3.17 ERA in 76 2/3 innings in 2016, through his strikeout and walk ratios per nine innings (7.16 and 3.52) are each below average and he’s on a $25MM salary through 2017. In addition to Sabathia, hot-hitting 39-year-old right fielder/designated hitter Carlos Beltran, left fielder Brett Gardner, catcher Brian McCann, third baseman Chase Headley, and starters Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi are Yankees who could have value around the deadline (not to mention their much-ballyhooed relievers, of course). The only member of that group who’s set to become a free agent at season’s end is Beltran. As Cafardo points out, it’s currently up in the air whether the playoff hopeful Yankees would move any of these players, though he wonders if clinging to postseason dreams is the right course for the 39-41 club.

More inside stuff from Cafardo:

Led by former Rays general manager and current president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers are in pursuit of Tampa Bay right-hander Chris Archer. The Rays aren’t planning on moving the 27-year-old as of now, though, which backs up FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal’s report from Saturday.

The presence of senior vice president of baseball operations Frank Wren, formerly the Braves’ GM, could lead the Red Sox to go after Atlanta right-hander Julio Teheran. Wren – who’s high on Teheran – is Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski’s right-hand man, Cafardo notes, and could push him toward putting together a package for the 25-year-old.

If they’re unable to swing a deal for Teheran, the Red Sox might turn their attention to Rays southpaw Matt Moore – in whom they’re interested. Moore, who has three more years of team control left via club options, also intrigues the Astros, Dodgers, Orioles, Royals, Yankees and previously reportedRangers.

With the possible exception of right-handed reliever Zach McAllister, the Indians aren’t going to give up pitching to augment their offense. Further, the organization has a reputation for keeping its payroll low and avoiding big-money acquisitions, which could take it out of the running to pick up a well-compensated trade chip. Athletics third baseman Danny Valencia, who’s on an affordable $3.15MM salary this season and has another trip through arbitration scheduled, is a potential target for Cleveland.

Hard-throwing Diamondbacks lefty Robbie Ray, who’s eighth in the majors in K/9 (10.42), is drawing interest from teams looking for starters. The 24-year-old has thrown 214 innings of 4.00 ERA ball dating to 2015 and won’t even become eligible for arbitration until after 2017, meaning he has four full seasons of club control remaining.

It’s been a little more than a month since we last checked in on the vesting options from around the league. Here’s where this year’s collection of players with vesting options for the following season stand…

Coco Crisp ($13MM option vests at 550 plate appearances or 130 games played in 2016): Crisp was hitting .234/.304/.405 at the time of my initial look at this group of players, but his bat has gone in the tank since that time. The 36-year-old switch-hitter has batted just .212/.235/.343 in 102 plate appearances since that time, but he’s continued to see playing time in part due to injuries elsewhere on the roster (Josh Reddick, Mark Canha). Crisp is still on pace to come in a bit shy of that 550 PA mark, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a reduced role upon Reddick’s return to health, as the A’s probably don’t love the idea of paying him $13MM for his age-37 campaign when he’s struggling to this level in 2016.

Matt Holliday ($17MM option vests with Top 10 finish in MVP voting): Holliday is having a strong season, as he’s proven that the power outage he experienced last season was more anomaly than a portent for significant decline. However, he’s hitting .257/.332/.478 — numbers that help the Cardinals but won’t make him a factor in MVP voting barring a mammoth finish to the 2016 season.

Chris Iannetta ($6MM option vests with 100 games started in 2016): Iannetta has already started 55 games for the Mariners this season, making it seem very likely that he’ll be around in Seattle for the 2017 campaign as well. He hasn’t set the world on fire in his first year with the Mariners, but he’s hitting .237/.337/.395, which translates to an OPS+ of 104 and a wRC+ of 105. (Put another way: he’s been about four to five percent above the league-average hitter after adjusting for his pitcher-friendly home park.)

Yusmeiro Petit ($3MM option vests with 80 innings pitched in 2016): At last check, Petit was on pace to see his option vest, but he’s been used very sparingly in the month of June, totaling just six innings thus far after combining for 26 innings in April and May. Given his status as a multi-inning reliever, he could pick up some additional innings in a hurry, but as it stands, he’s behind pace to see that payday locked in automatically. Of course, he’s also posted a 2.81 ERA in those 32 innings, so the Nats may simply pick up his option even if it doesn’t automatically trigger. To this point, he’s pitched well enough that it seems like a fairly easy call.

CC Sabathia ($25MM option vests if he does not end season on DL with shoulder injury or miss 45+ games in 2016 due to shoulder injury): Sabathia’s option seems likely to vest, as his shoulder has remained healthy this season. However, what once looked like an egregious overpay can perhaps be seen in a different light for the time being. While few would argue that the Yankees shouldn’t mind paying Sabathia that sum in 2017, his contract looks considerably better than it did last year. The former Cy Young winner has made 11 starts this season and has posted a resurgent 2.20 ERA with 7.7 K/9 against 3.7 BB/9. Sabathia has benefited from some good fortune in terms of homer-to-flyball ratio and strand rate, but this is the best he’s looked since 2012.

Kurt Suzuki ($6MM option vests with 485 plate appearances in 2016): Suzuki’s overall production this season has been well below average, but since the last of these updates he’s batting a considerably improved .268/.297/.394 with a pair of homers in 74 PAs. That’s a bit better than the league-average catcher, but the Twins still don’t seem inclined to allow his option to vest. Suzuki has totaled just 158 plate appearances this season even with John Ryan Murphy, his projected replacement, floundering in the Majors and getting optioned to Triple-A (where his struggles have continued). Journeyman Juan Centeno is getting some time behind the dish as well (61 PAs) for the Twins as well. It seems unlikely that Minnesota will allow Suzuki to average 3.5 PAs per game over the final 93 contests after he’s averaged just 2.3 per game thus far.

As noted in the original update, both Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn had vesting options for the 2017 season as well, but those options were negated when each was released from the four-year contracts they initially signed with the Indians.

Each year, the free-agent class is impacted by the performance of players with vesting options (as is the financial future of players with said provisions in their contract). For those unfamiliar with the option, a vesting option is typically a club option that can automatically trigger based on the player’s health and/or performance. Meeting pre-determined criteria for games played, innings pitched, plate appearances, etc. are the most common means of triggering vesting options, though as you’ll see below, there have been some more creative approaches to vesting options in the past as well.

We’ll check in on these players periodically throughout the season, and here’s the first look…

Chris Iannetta: The Mariners hold a $4.25MM club option over Iannetta for the 2017 season, but that option can also vest at $6MM if Iannetta starts 100 games in 2016 and does not finish the season on the disabled list due to an injured hip, back or right elbow. Having started 30 of the Mariners’ first 39 games, Iannetta is on pace to clear the 100 start threshold with ease, and if he can continue to post an OPS in the mid-.700s, the Mariners probably won’t mind having him back for another season at that price. One factor that could throw a wrench into his playing time: Mike Zunino is demolishing Triple-A pitching thus far, batting .305/.357/.580, though the former first-round pick has cooled off considerably in the past two weeks.

Kurt Suzuki: Another backstop with a $6MM vesting option, Suzuki needs to reach 485 plate appearances in 2016 for that option to trigger. The big 2014 first-half that earned Suzuki that extension never seemed sustainable, and he has batted just .242/.294/.330 since signing the deal. The Twins probably don’t want to see this one vest, as evidenced by the fact that he’s on pace for 349 plate appearances, which would be his lowest total since signing in Minnesota.

Matt Holliday: The 36-year-old Holliday has a $17MM club option for the 2017 season that automatically vests if he places within the Top 10 of this season’s NL MVP voting. Holliday isn’t the hitter he once was, and even in his best years with the Cardinals, he (somewhat surprisingly) never landed inside the Top 10 in NL MVP voting. At 36 years of age and off to a good but unspectacular .250/.325/.485 start to the season, it seems safe to assume that his option won’t vest. The club will have the choice of exercising the option or paying Holliday a buyout of $1MM.

Coco Crisp: Crisp, also 36, has a more complicated vesting option tacked onto his two-year, $22MM deal. The option is valued at $13MM and will automatically kick in if Crisp receives 550 plate appearances or appears in 130 games this season. The option initially could also have vested based on combined playing time from 2015-16 (1100 PAs from 2015-16 or 260 games from 2015-16), but Crisp spent most of the 2015 campaign on the DL, so he’ll have to hope to trigger the option based solely on his 2016 health. He’s appeared in 31 of Oakland’s 41 games and picked up 126 plate appearances, so he’s a bit shy of the pace for either threshold. Clearly, though, there’s still plenty of time to make up ground. He’s batting .234/.304/.405.

Yusmeiro Petit: The one-year, $3MM contract signed by Petit this winter came with a $3MM club option ($500K buyout) that vests if Petit reaches 80 innings pitched. Petit has occupied a role similar to the one in which he thrived for a few years as a member of the Giants’ bullpen, and he’s picked up 21 innings through the Nationals’ first 40 games. If that pace holds, he’ll indeed clear 80 innings and see that salary lock in. With a 1.71 ERA and 3.28 FIP through his first 21 frames, the Nats probably wouldn’t mind that at all.

CC Sabathia: The 35-year-old Sabathia’s vesting option is tied to the health of his shoulder. He’ll lock in a $25MM salary for the 2017 campaign if he doesn’t end the 2016 season on the DL due to a shoulder injury or spend 45+ days on the DL this year due to a shoulder injury. Sabathia is currently on the disabled list, but it’s due to a groin injury, so it doesn’t impact the option’s status. While he’s certainly no longer an ace, Sabathia did have a 3.81 ERA through his first five starts of the season, though his strikeout and walk numbers weren’t particularly encouraging.

It’s perhaps worth noting, as well, that both Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher had vesting options for the 2017 season worked into the four-year deals they originally signed with the Indians. However, with each player having been released from that contract and signing new deals (with the D-backs and Yankees, respectively), those options are no longer in play. (The lack of playing time for each player this season would’ve made them a non-issue anyhow.)

The Dodgers are currently playing a series against the Blue Jays in Toronto, which means that former Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos (currently the Dodgers’ vice president of baseball operations) is back in town. Anthopoulos spoke to reporters, including MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm, about his time with the Jays organization. Anthopoulos notes that one trade he wonders about not making was for Ben Zobrist, who the Jays evidently were close to acquiring from Oakland last season before he ultimately went to Kansas City. He also looks back on one trade he did make, sending Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud to New York in his famous 2012 deal for R.A. Dickey. Syndergaard, of course, has emerged as a phenom, but Anthopoulos defends the deal from the Blue Jays’ perspective. The team had two sluggers in their primes, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, and faced a tough decision about whether to build around them or consider trading them and resetting for the future. The Jays opted for the former. “The thought was three years in a row, and beyond, to be able to get the playoffs and win the World Series,” Anthopoulos says. “The thought was always that it could be what it is today in terms of attendance, TV ratings, fan interest. The belief was there. It was almost like a wick and you needed to light it.” Here’s more from the AL East.

The Red Sox could soon consider promoting top outfield prospect Andrew Benintendi from Class A+ Salem to a higher level, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes. The seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft has continued his torrid hitting from last season — he’s currently batting a ridiculous .381/.442/.648 for Salem and currently has a .337/.425/.587 line for his minor-league career. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski says he has no hard-and-fast criteria for the timings of minor-league promotions, instead treating them on a “case-by-case basis.” Of Benintendi, Dombowski says, “I don’t think it’s worth really speculating, but I could have to say it’s at least a situation that I’m sure will merit attention.”

Yankees manager Joe Girardi says Alex Rodriguez’s hamstring strain is a grade “one-plus,” MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets. There had been optimism that Rodriguez could return from the DL on May 19, the first day he’s eligible, but that might be unlikely. Carlos Beltran has played DH in Rodriguez’s absence, with Aaron Hicks in right field.

Meanwhile, Yankees starter C.C. Sabathiais optimistic he can return from the DL in the minimum amount of time, tweets Hoch. Sabathia was placed on the DL yesterday with a groin strain, but he doesn’t believe it’s severe. Ivan Nova is replacing Sabathia in the Yankees’ rotation.

The Yankees announced today that they have placed left-hander CC Sabathia on the 15-day disabled list with a strained groin and selected the contract of left-handed reliever (and, of course, former Yankee) Phil Coke to take his spot on the roster. The Yankees had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move is needed to clear a space for Coke.

Sabathia, 35, has given the Yankees three solid starts in five turns this season, most recently highlighted by an outing in which he tossed seven scoreless innings with six hits, two walks and six strikeouts against a tough Orioles lineup in Baltimore. He’s currently sporting a 3.81 ERA with 6.7 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 47.7 percent ground-ball rate through 28 1/3 innings.

The hope is that Sabathia will only miss about three weeks, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch tweets, but his placement on the disabled list further thins out what was already a fairly sparse rotation. The Yankees currently have Masahiro Tanaka, Nathan Eovaldi, Luis Severino and Michael Pineda in the rotation, though there’s been talk of Severino needing additional time at Triple-A, and Pineda and Eovaldi have each struggled quite a bit as well. For the time being, right-hander Ivan Nova will transition from his long-relief role into the rotation. Nova has already made multiple four-inning appearances this season, and he has a lengthy background as a starter with the Yankees as well.

Coke, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees a couple of weeks ago after a brief stop on the independent circuit last month. Pitching for the Atlantic League’s Lancaster BarnStormers, Coke tallied four innings and yielded a pair of earned runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. He’s yet to allow an earned run in seven innings for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, where he’s surrendered just three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Coke has a 4.20 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 3.3 BB/9 in 411 Major League innings, and opposing lefties have batted .245/.298/.356 against him in 816 plate appearances.

Yankees lefty CC Sabathia released a statement today announcing that he has checked himself into an alcohol rehabilitation program and will not be available for the postseason. His statement, via Yankees press release, is as follows:

Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease. I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series. It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player. As difficult as this decision is to share publicly, I don’t want to run and hide. But for now please respect my family’s need for privacy as we work through this challenge together. Being an adult means being accountable. Being a baseball player means that others look up to you. I want my kids — and others who may have become fans of mine over the years — to know that I am not too big of a man to ask for help. I want to hold my head up high, have a full heart and be the type of person again that I can be proud of. And that’s exactly what I am going to do. I am looking forward to being out on the field with my team next season playing the game that brings me so much happiness.

Clearly the decision comes at a difficult time, as the Yankees are presently preparing to embark on what they hope will be a lengthy postseason run. But, Sabathia’s admission of a problem and the need, on a human level, to seek help for his disease have understandably taken precedent.

It’s been a rough few seasons for Sabathia, who has seen his on-field production decline due, in large part, to knee issues that have required surgery. The longtime ace and former Cy Young winner has a 4.81 ERA across 424 1/3 innings in the past three seasons. He has one guaranteed year remaining on his contract in 2016, when he’ll earn $25MM, but he can also see a vesting option for the same amount kick in so long as he does not finish next year on the DL or spend significant time on the DL or in the bullpen due to left shoulder issues.